Why Not Flip Retail to Residential?
I wasn’t surprised by last week’s announcement that the Sears store in the Janss Marketplace in Thousand Oaks will soon close. I walked into that store late one weekday afternoon a few months ago and said to my son, “Look at this! There’s only half a dozen customers in the entire place.” As we walked […]
California Leaving is Becoming a Reality
Recently, I got a note from a local business executive telling me he was retiring and moving out of California. He allowed me to use excerpts from his note so long as I didn’t identify him or his company. (Sorry, but I promised.) He wrote that, on the one hand, California can be a very […]
Making the Housing Shortage Worse
We have a severe housing shortage, and last week our mayor said that he’d help make matters worse. If Eric Garcetti gets his way, rent control could be imposed on far more apartments in Los Angeles and throughout the state. That’d be great for the few folks lucky enough to get a rent-controlled unit. It’d […]
Might Governor’s Race Get Thrilling?
The California governor’s race always seemed destined to be a snoozer. But wait one minute. Could it get interesting? Well, at least a couple of Republicans seem to think it might. Karl Rove and Newt Gingrich have taken an interest in the race since two polls last month showed that Republican John Cox had slipped […]
Bullet Train Losing Business Folks
Do you know what really was deflating when California’s High-Speed Rail Authority issued its latest report a few weeks ago? It wasn’t the revelation that the cost of building the bullet train between Los Angeles and San Francisco is going up by billions of dollars. (Again.) And it wasn’t that construction will be delayed. (Again.) […]
Housing Shortage = California Brain Drain
My oldest son and his significant other, both thirtysomethings, have been working hard and saving money for years. A few months ago, they decided it was time to graduate from their apartment and buy a house. They were eager to claim this important benefit of the American Dream. They found a nice little house and […]
Down in the Dumps Over Garbage Law
If you’re still steaming about L.A.’s new trash system – which so far has resulted in poorer service and much higher costs – just wait. The state is hitting businesses with a different plan next year: A new recycling mandate that calls on businesses to sort food waste and landscape trimmings from the rest of […]
2017? C’mon, It Was a Good Year
I was taken aback to see the dour assessment of 2017 when news outlets did their usual year-in-review reports. If you believe the articles, last year was a decidedly bad one. What’s more, the outlook for 2018 came off as bleak I was taken aback because, well, 2017 seemed a particularly good year. And 2018? […]
Disney’s Lack of Corporate Presence
There’s one big rule for column writers: Take a stand; don’t be squishy. This is a heads-up that I’m going to violate that rule. More about that in a minute. The subject is the Walt Disney Co. You may have seen the Sept. 24 article in the Los Angeles Times – it was in the […]
Business Friendly? California’s Moving Up!
Finally! California did not rank dead last in a survey of business friendliness. According to a report released last week by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, California came in No. 47 in what was described as its “lawsuit climate.” Now you might not think No. 47 is all that great, but it seems […]